Brussels, 20/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - Ahead of the tenth WTO ministerial summit, which is taking place in Nairobi from 15 to 18 December, intense work is under way in Geneva to make a compromise possible in Kenya on the farm aspects of the Doha trade round. WTO member states continue to disagree over a possible connection between the export competition chapter and other issues, such as the special safeguard mechanism (SSM) for developing countries and exemptions for public stock holdings for food security purposes.
At a meeting on 18 November, the chair of the farm talks at the WTO, New Zealand's ambassador Vangelis Vitalis, regretted the lack of convergence amongst players. The meeting discussed three recent proposals, the first two on export competition and the third on SSM.
Backed by Argentina, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, the export competition proposal from Brazil and the EU makes changes to the 2008 farm compromise that foresaw the phasing out of export subsidies and other instruments with a similar trade-distorting impact, such as export credits, food aid and state trading enterprises. The proposal is based on the total elimination of export subsidies by developed countries by 2019, and by developing countries by 2022 (2027 for subsidies on marketing and internal transportation. For export credits, the proposal suggests conditional flexibility to allow a reimbursement period of more than 180 days. For state trading enterprises, the proposal foresees the dismantling of export monopolies by 2020. Finally, the proposal foresees general restrictions on food aid monetization.
Member states in favour of a positive outcome in Nairobi on export competition have urged the negotiators not to link up the question with other chapters of the Doha trade round, such as domestic support and market access, where no progress has been seen. Alongside the backers of the joint EU-Brazil proposal, the following countries are in favour: Australia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, Moldova, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Thailand and Ukraine.
The second proposal on export competition comes from Australia, which gives two examples to illustrate the importance of a compulsory application agreement being reached in Nairobi: India's export subsidies for sugar and US export credits.
On behalf of the G33 developing countries, which are calling for flexibility to protect their markets, Indonesia presented a new proposal on the special safeguard mechanism (SSM). The mechanism would allow this category of country to temporarily increase their customs duties in the event of a sudden rise in imports. Presented in the form of a ministerial decision, this proposal is backed by the following countries: South Africa, Bolivia, China, South Korea, Cuba, Egypt (for the African Group), Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya (for the ACP Group), the Philippines, Taiwan, Turkey and Venezuela. These countries want any Nairobi compromise to include this mechanism and a permanent solution for public stockholding for food security purposes. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)